BROADCASTS.com

In our recent series on artificial intelligence, I kept returning to a thought: This technology might be able to churn out content faster than we can, but we still need a human mind to sift through the dross and figure out what\u2019s good. In other words, A.I. is going to turn more of us into editors.\n\nBut editing is a peculiar skill. It\u2019s hard to test for, or teach, or even describe. But it\u2019s the crucial step in the creative process that takes work that\u2019s decent and can turn it into something great.\n\nAdam Moss is widely known as one of the great magazine editors of his generation: He remade The New York Times Magazine in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and during his 15 years as editor in chief of New York magazine, shaped that outlet into one of the greatest print and digital publications we have. And he\u2019s now out with a new book, \u201cThe Work of Art: How Something Comes From Nothing.\u201d It\u2019s a curation of 43 conversations with artists about the marginalia, doodles, drafts and revisions that lead to great art. It\u2019s a celebration of the hard, human work that goes into the creative act. It\u2019s a book, really, about editing.\n\nIn this conversation, we discuss what musicians, writers, visual artists, sandcastle-builders and others have in common as they create; how editing is an underappreciated and often misunderstood step in the creative process; how creativity morphs in different stages of our lives; and trusting your own \u201csensibility.\u201d\n\nMentioned:\n\n\u201cA Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby\u201d by Kara Walker\n\n\u201cMiss Gleason\u201d by Amy Sillman\n\nEzra Klein Show episode with George Saunders\n\n\u201cMother and Child on Blue Mat\u201d by Cheryl Pope\n\nEzra Klein Show episode with Maryanne Wolf\n\n\u201cFidenza\u201d by Tyler Hobbs\n\n\u201cIn a River\u201d by Rostam\n\nBook Recommendations:\n\nInterviews with Francis Bacon by David Sylvester\n\nFaux Pas by Amy Sillman\n\nThe Sketchbooks Revealed by Richard Diebenkorn\n\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\n\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.\n\nThis episode of \u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\u201d was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Isaac Jones. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show\u2019s production team also includes Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin and Aman Sahota. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Sonia Herrero, Rachel Baker and James Burnett.